Meet the seeds

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Once your small baby plants – also known as seedlings – start popping through the soil and get to around 4cm tall, you need to give them some more room to grow by transferring the whole biodegradable pot to a larger pot.
• Place them in a bigger container with some drainage holes in the bottom and lots of fresh new soil. The more soil, the bigger and stronger the plant.
• Only repot once the seedlings get their first leaves.

Helping your plant flourish

• Basil grows best outside, but before relocating it to your garden, you need to help your seedlings get used to life outside.
• ‘Hardening up’ your basil involves placing it outside for a few hours a day over the space of a week, allowing it to adjust to the different temperatures and conditions.
• When the final winter frosts are done, you can permanently replant them in the ground – look for a sunny and sheltered spot.
• Pick (or ‘harvest’) only the leaves that you're going to eat, so the plant can continue growing throughout the season.

Skinny Jean Gardener top tip

Basil hates it when its roots are too wet. Watering in the morning is recommended.

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Depending how many baby plants – also known as seedlings – pop up out of the soil, you’ll need to repot them once they get to around 4cm tall.
• Simply move your seedlings into a larger pot with some drainage holes in the bottom and some fresh soil. You don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pot as it will disintegrate over time.
• Once repotted, pop it on the windowsill and keep well watered until it’s ready to go outside when the last of the frosts have been and gone.

Helping your plant flourish

• Beetroot grows best outside, so find an area in the garden where you can plant them, leaving around 10cm between each bulb so they have lots of space to grow. Or if you’re planting them in new pots, try to give them a pot each or let two of them share – the more room they have, the better.
• It’s a good idea to put some net around your beetroot plants to stop the birds from stealing them as soon as you plant up.
• Give them a good water at least once a week to keep them nice and hydrated.
• The best way to harvest beetroot is by gently pulling the leaves at the top of the plant. You can also use your hands to brush around the beetroots to help them come out of the ground easier.

Skinny Jean Gardener top tip

Harvest some of your beets when they are about the size of a golf ball as these will be tender and delicious. The rest can be left to get to tennis ball size but beware – any bigger and they won’t taste so great.

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Your carrots will eventually start popping green shoots out of the soil. When these get to about 5cm, you need to carefully move them to a pot at least 20cm deep and ensure it has some drainage holes in the bottom. The deeper the pot, the more space the carrots will have to grow. You don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pot as it will disintegrate over time.
• Keep it on the windowsill somewhere warm and keep the soil damp to the touch.

Helping your plant flourish

• When it’s warmer outside, you can move your carrots into the garden. Help them get used to the conditions outside by ‘hardening them off’. This simply means placing them outside for a few hours a day over the course of a week so they can acclimatise.
• When replanting, always try to keep your carrots at least 6-10cm apart so they have plenty of room to grow nice and big.
• Make sure you keep your carrots well watered, but don’t overdo it when they’re still small plants – always avoid them swimming in water.
• Harvest your carrots around the 12-16-week mark. You can do this by gently moving the soil around the carrots and pulling them out of the ground by their green leaves.
• The larger the carrot, the less flavour it will have, so don’t let them get too large.

Skinny Jean Gardener top tip

Remember: good things come to those who wait! Don’t be too keen to see what’s going on under the soil. You can lightly remove the top layer to check on the size and progress of your carrots, but avoiding removing them from the soil completely as that won’t be good for the growing process.

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Once your chillies get to around 5cm, it’s time to replant them into a bigger container so they have more room to grow.
• Simply move your seedlings into a larger pot with some drainage holes in the bottom and some fresh soil. You don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pot as it will disintegrate over time.
• Make sure you select a pot that has plenty of space as you don’t want to have to keep moving it to a bigger space as it grows.
• As the plant grows, keep it well watered and in a warm area that gets plenty of light.
• To help keep your plant growing upwards without falling over, it’s worth adding a small stick for support.

Helping your plant flourish

• The great thing about chillies is you can grow them indoors on the windowsill and harvest from there, or you can replant them outside – it’s totally up to you.
• If you do decide to move them outside, make sure you wait until the weather starts to warm up and give your plant the chance to get used to being outdoors by ‘hardening it off’. This means moving it outside for a few hours each day over the space of a week so it can acclimatise to the different temperature.
• When your plant’s chillies turn red, you can harvest them by gently removing the chilli from its stalk, either with scissors or by gently pinching with your fingers. It’s important you do this, as the more you harvest, the more your plant will continue to produce new ones.
• Chilli plants tend to grow pretty tall – but the taller they grow, the fewer chillies they’re likely to produce. Snip your plant at the top once it gets to around 30-40cm high and you’ll get a lot more grown.

Skinny Jean Gardener top tip

As your plant grows taller and stronger, give it a little shake when flowering to encourage pollination. It’ll help grow lots more of those lovely hot chillies!

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• When your baby forget-me-nots are about 3-4cm tall, it’s time to move them into a larger container to give them the space they need to get bigger and stronger.
• Simply move your seedlings into a large pot with some drainage holes in the bottom and some fresh soil – you don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pot as it will disintegrate over time.
• Leave them in a warm spot that gets plenty of light – a windowsill is perfect.

Helping your plant flourish

• Before planting your forget-me-nots in the garden, make sure you give them chance to get used to life outdoors first. Harden them up by popping them outside for a few hours each day over the course of a week.
• Simply lift them out of their current pot, gently moving the soil from the roots so they remain intact. You can then place them across a few larger pots or directly into your flowerbeds.
• Aim to create an area of your garden where you can plant lots of forget-me-not seedlings together – it produces a wonderful carpet of delicate flowers that makes a big impact.
• Forget-me-nots don’t need a lot of attention. You can plant them and leave them to do their thing. Just make sure their soil doesn’t get too dry.

Skinny Jean Gardener Top Tip

Plant your forget-me-nots in a shaded area to get them flowering at their best.

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Once your small baby plants – also known as seedlings – start popping through the soil and get to around 4cm tall, you need to give them some more room to grow by transferring them to a bigger pot.
• Simply move your seedlings into a larger pot with some drainage holes in the bottom and some fresh soil. You don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pots as they will disintegrate over time.

Helping your plant flourish

• Lettuce grows best outside, but before relocating it to your garden, you need to help your seedlings get used to life outside.
• ‘Hardening up’ your lettuce involves placing it outside for a few hours a day over the space of a week, allowing it to adjust to the different temperatures and conditions.
• When the final winter frosts are done, you can permanently replant them in the ground. Just be sure to cover with some netting to begin with as birds will love to pick at them!
• You can harvest your lettuce at any point by cutting or pulling the leaves off at the base of the plant. The smaller leaves tend to taste the best and picking first thing in the morning provides a much more crisp and sweet leaf!

Skinny Jean Gardener top tip

Water, water and more water – it’s the one thing that will keep your lettuce in tip-top condition, especially during hot weather where they can often dry up and die off.

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Because cress is such a speedy little plant, you don’t actually need to repot it at all. Simply leave it in the biodegradable pot and let it grow.
• It can be left on the windowsill where it gets plenty of light and you should start to see your first shoots in as little as 24 hours – perfect!
• Harvest when your cress is between 5-8cm high. Simply cut carefully with scissors from the base of the plant.

Helping your plant flourish

• Cress is a super easy plant to care for. Just keep the soil damp but avoid over-watering.
• Generally, one seed will only grow well once and won’t keep on reproducing. If you want more cress then you’ll need to sow some more seeds, which won’t be a problem because of how quickly they grow!

Skinny Jean Gardener top tip

These will grow super fast, so be ready for them! To help them out, pop a little bit of cling film over the top to create a mini green house for them. Just be sure to remove it once the cress starts popping out of the soil.

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Once your baby plants – also known as seedlings – have started to grow to around 5in, it’s time to repot them to give them more room to flourish. Simply move your seedlings into a larger pot, complete with some drainage holes in the bottom with some fresh soil. You don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pot as it will disintegrate over time.
• Your pansies will need plenty of space to grow roots. They’ll be living in this pot until they are moved outside in the warmer months, so make sure the pot you choose is big enough.
• Find your pansies a cool and bright area indoors – a windowsill usually makes the perfect home.

Helping your plant flourish

• Once winter is out the way and the sun is starting to shine, it’s time to relocate your pansies outdoors. The first step in this process is known as ‘hardening off’, which simply means getting your plants used to being in the open air.
• For about a week before planting your pansies outside, pop them on your back doorstep for a few hours a day – increasing the length of time throughout the week – to help them get used to their new surroundings.
• You can then remove them from their pot and replant either directly into a flower bed or a hanging basket. If you’ve planted in a container or hanging basket, check the soil daily to make sure it doesn’t dry out.

Skinny Jean Gardener top tip

When your pansies start flowering, be sure to take off the dead flowers regularly. This is known as deadheading and it helps encourage the plant to keep producing more flowers. Getting rid of the dead flowers gives new flowers space to pop through!

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Once your parsley starts getting to around 4-5cm tall, it’s time to take the whole lot and repot into a larger container. The bigger the container, the bigger the plant!
• Simply move your seedlings into a larger pot with some drainage holes in the bottom and some fresh soil. You don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pot as it will disintegrate over time.
• Once repotted, you can then leave it on the windowsill in the kitchen to use straight away or, after the frosts outside stop, it can be planted in the soil in a sunny, sheltered position.

Helping your plant flourish

• Ensure your parsley is well watered and doesn’t dry out. Aim to water whenever you feel the soil is getting too dry.
• You should continue harvesting your parsley to encourage new growth. Simply cut or gently pull some of the curly sprigs from the base of the plant to enjoy in food or as a garnish.

Skinny Jean Gardener top tip

Parsley produces a lot of sprigs that need to be harvested regularly – even if you’re not going to use it all immediately, don’t be tempted to leave it on the plant for too long. You can always pop some into the freezer for use later, whilst still making space for new sprigs to grow.

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• After a couple of weeks, you can expect to see small shoots – also known as seedlings – pop up out of the soil. Once these seedlings get to about 4cm tall, it’s time to move them to a bigger home.
• Simply move your seedlings into a larger pot with some drainage holes in the bottom and some fresh soil. You don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pot as it will disintegrate over time.
• Make sure your new pot has plenty of soil in to encourage the roots to grow as much as possible.
• Place on a windowsill somewhere warm and keep the soil damp to the touch.

Helping your plant flourish

• As the pepper plant grows, it’s up to you whether you keep it on the windowsill or replant outside once the weather starts to warm up.
• If you do decide to move it into the garden, help it get used to the conditions outside by ‘hardening it off’. This simply means placing it outside for a few hours a day over the course of a week so it can get used to the cooler temperature.
• Your pepper plant will need plenty of water and sunshine, so pick a spot near a window or out of the shade.
• Pepper plants can grow quite tall, so you can use a support stick to help keep it upright.
• The main branches of the plant will also start to grow side shoots in the corners. It’s best not to let these grow, so give them a quick pinch to remove them from the plant.

Skinny Jean Gardener Top Tip

Pepper plants will try to grow really tall if they can, but actually this sometimes affects how many peppers can grow. Once it gets to about 30cm, snip the top off to make sure you get as many peppers as possible.

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Once your radish seedlings reach around 4cm high, it’s time to repot into a large container.
• Simply move your seedlings into a larger pot with some drainage holes in the bottom and some fresh soil – you don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pot as it will disintegrate over time.
• Once the weather gets warmer and it’s no longer frosty, you can move your radish outdoors if you like, but as they grow so quickly, it’s probably best to leave them in the containers on the windowsill.

Helping your plant flourish

• To help get the best radishes possible, make sure you keep the soil moist so they grow faster – but don’t overdo it so they end up swimming in water. Check to see if the soil feels dry and that’s when you know it’s time to water again.
• You’ll know your radishes are ready to harvest when you gently remove the top of the soil and see the red radishes underneath. You can then pull them out of the soil.

Skinny Jean Gardener top tip

The best time to harvest radishes is when they are small – roughly around the size of a 50 pence piece in diameter. If they're left to get too big, they become woody and don’t taste particularly nice.

Getting started

1. Put the soil tablet on a saucer and slowly pour approximately 50ml of water over it.
2. Mix the water into the soil with your hands to make a wet mixture. Watch the soil expand!
3. Use most of your soil to fill up the biodegradable pot to around 1cm below the top.
4. Now place your seed mat on top of the soil (do not take seeds out of the seed mat). Take care not to press down too hard. Now use the rest of your soil mixture to cover the seed mat.

Congratulations! Your M&S Little Garden is ready to start growing. Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.

Keep your Little Garden healthy

1. Put the biodegradable pot in a place inside with enough light – we recommend the windowsill.
2. Check the soil in the morning and before bed. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
3. If you see a plant appear from the soil, well done! The seeds have sprouted and will soon be ready to move into a bigger pot indoors. When it gets warmer outside in May, you can move outside or plant in the garden.

Repotting

• Once your baby plants – or seedlings as they’re more formally known – have reached about 3cm long, it’s time to repot them. Simply move your seedlings into a larger pot with some fresh soil. You don’t need to remove them from their current biodegradable pot as it will disintegrate over time.
• The bigger the pot, the more roots your plant can grow, which is important for creating beautiful violas. Make sure you have some holes in the bottom of the pot for drainage.

Helping your plant flourish

• During the colder months, keep your violas well watered and leave them somewhere cool with plenty of light – always avoid homing them near radiators or fireplaces.
• When the weather starts to warm up, you can start the ‘hardening off’ process that helps your budding violas get used to life outdoors. Pop them outside for a few hours each today so they adjust to their new surroundings. This is really important as you don’t want to shock your flowers by putting them outside too soon!
• After a week of hardening off, your violas should be ready to replant. Choose a spot that is either in partial or full sunlight – just make sure if you choose a sunny spot that you keep them well watered over the hotter months.
• You can plant your violas either directly into the ground or into pots or hanging baskets. Remember to leave plenty of space in between each plant so it has room to grow.
• Remove any dead flowers on a regular basis to help new ones pop up. Do this gently with either some scissors or by pinching them off with your fingers.

Skinny Jean Gardener Top Tip

You might find that your plants start to attract a few unwelcome slugs once they’re in the garden. The best thing you can do is put coffee granules around the plant to stop them coming close – slugs hate the smell, so this normally works a treat!